Ethnicity and Participation in Primary Education: Some Statistical Results from the 2005 Census

Richard Noonan The Lao PDR is a multi-ethnic nation, with nearly 50 officially recognised ethnolinguistic groups. Its government is committed to achieving quality basic education for all. Collectively, the Lao-Tai ethno-linguistic group represents 65% of the population according to the 2005 census. Recent demographic trends, however, are bringing about change in the ethno-linguistic distribution. These changes are increasingly visible in schools and will have important policy implications for development of the education system.

quity, quality, and efficiency are the major pillars of Lao education policy (for the most current policy overview and progress assessment, see MOE, 2007). The ability of young children to understand and benefit from instruction is an important aspect of quality that must be taken into account if universal basic education targets Education for All (EFA) goal 2 and MDG 2 are to be achieved. Laos has a rich ethno-linguistic diversity, and more than 30% of children have a mother tongue other than the national language, Lao. This presents a complex challenge to the education authorities, whose duty is to ensure that all children, regardless of the language used in the home, can benefit from primary school instruction.

Scope and Methodology

Data This paper briefly describes the ethno-linguistic context of primary schooling in the Lao PDR, presenting statistical results from the 2005 census and recent results from the Ministry of Education (MOE) annual school census. This article is purely descriptive and focuses on the statistical association between ethnicity, primary school participation, and reported literacy in the Lao language. The census results are based on the authors analysis of the data for all children aged 0-16 years. The MOE data is based mainly on either 2004/05 or 2005/06 data, with some reference to earlier figures. Reference is also made to the Lao National Literacy Survey conducted in 2000. In the 2005 census, the following questions on education and training were asked (valid responses in parenthesis): Variable 11: Can [name, person of age over 6 years] read and write Lao? (Yes / No / No answer); Variable 12: Has [name] ever attended school? (No, never / At school / Left school / No answer); Variable 13: What is [name]s highest level of education? (No education / Grade 1 / Grade 2 / Grade 3 / Grade 4 / Grade 5 / Grade 6 / Lower secondary 1 / Lower secondary 2 / Lower secondary 3 / Upper secondary 1 / Upper secondary 2 / Upper secondary 3 / Dont know); Variable 14: What is [name]s highest level of vocational education? (First level / Middle level / High or university / Post graduate / Other / Dont know).

Statistical combinations of data from these variables, together with gender, age, and ethnicity, provide a rich source of information about the relationship between ethnicity and education. A small portion of this richness is reported here. Problems of Ethno-Linguistic Classification In a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic context, policy-making leading to successful nation-building is crucially dependent on agreed and factually correct ethno-linguistic classification that shows respect for the linguistic diversity, cultural values and human rights of all groups, as declared in the 1991 Constitution. Collection of education statistics by ethno-linguistic group is problematic because the administrative classification system which, in the absence of careful and systematic ethno-linguistic evidence, has been in use at least since the 1950s, is not based on ethno-linguistic features. That system labelled the peoples of Laos under three major categories, based on the topographical distribution the groups were believed to display at the time: Lao Loum (the lowland Lao, now representing some 65% of the population); Lao Theung (the upland or midland Lao, now accounting for roughly 23% of the population); 1

Lao Soung (the highland Lao or hill tribes, now representing nearly 11% of the population).

These elevation-related figures are, of course, imprecise and reflect only general tendencies. Moreover, individuals and whole villages migrate, and some communities have lived for generations at the wrong elevation. The population percentages are based on figures from the 2005 census. This classification was originally adopted partly for political purposes, to show that all ethnic groups were part of the Lao nation. It was abandoned in the 1991 constitution, and the 1992 Central Party Resolution on Ethnic Minorities recommended that these topographical categories should no longer be used. The 2005 census (GOL, 2006) lists 49 groups, as shown in Table 2 below. The categorisation of these groups is not standardised. Hopefully future censuses will use, as a minimum, the four main ethno-linguistic groups as classified on the Ministry of Information and Culture website (MOIC, 2007) and shown in Table 2, as a basis for ethnolinguistic categories. Beginning with the 2007/08 school census, the MOE will use these four main ethnolinguistic categories. As a first approximation, for those familiar with the old Lao government system, Lao Loum represents the Lao-Tai sub-group of the Austro-Tai linguistic family. Lao Theung represents the Mon-Khmer sub-group of the Austro-Asiatic linguistic family, and Lao Soung represents the Hmong-Yao Mien category sub-group of the Austro-Tai linguistic family plus the Tibeto-Burman and Sinitic sub-groups of the Sino-Tibetan linguistic family. Whereas the old Lao Loum category is a relatively homogeneous category linguistically, the Lao Soung category is particularly heterogeneous. This paper uses both census data and MOE data to show some general trends, however, and in Table 4 these two data sets have been combined by re-categorising the census data.

Findings: Changing Times

The Ethnicity and Language Context The ethno-linguistic context of the Lao PDR is more complex than in many other countries. The columns on the left side of Table 2 give the distribution of the total population by linguistic category based on the 49 ethnic groups defined for the 2005 census. The columns on the right show the distribution of the population aged 0-16 years. The figures in the last column (%) are shaded and italicized if the percent distribution in the age 0-16 population is greater than the percent distribution in the total population. They are bold and italicized if the difference is greater than one percentage point. Declining Fertility Rates One of the most profound but quiet changes occurring in Laos over the past decade has been the decline in fertility rates, which was found in the 2005 census and the Lao Reproductive Health Survey 2005 to be substantially faster than had been anticipated. It had been observed in recent years in some of the major towns that the number of primary school teachers required was declining, because enrolments were declining, because the number of school age children was declining, because fertility rates were declining.

Ethnicity and Declining Fertility Rates by Ethnic Composition The magnitude of the decline on the national level was surprising, but at least as significant as the overall decline was its geographic and (by implication) ethnic composition. In urban areas (where the Lao-Tai are the predominant ethnic Area of Fertility group), the fertility rate seems to have stabilised at just over 2.04. This is close to residence rate fertility rates in Europe and possibly, given the relatively high mortality rate, even Urban 2.04 below the population replacement rate in Laos. In rural on road areas, the Rural, on road 3.70 fertility rate is still relatively high at 3.70. In rural off road areas (i.e. in remote Rural, off road 4.74 and often ethnic group communities), the fertility rate is still very high at 4.74. There is thus an obvious, if complex and diffuse, link with ethnicity. This will have significant implications for education development policy, because it is essentially rural off-road communities into which primary education must expand if universal basic education is to be achieved. Provision of school inputs in such communities, especially the services of qualified teachers, has so far proven difficult. Table 1: Fertility rates in Laos by location

Table 2: Population by gender and ethnicity, total and aged 0-16

Code Ethnic group Male Lao-Tai linguistic sub-group 1 Lao 1,528,269 2 Tai 108,257 3 Phoutai 91,634 4 Lue 61,100 5 Nyouan 14,493 6 Yang 3,101 7 Xaek 1,799 8 Tai Neua 7,382 Total 1,816,035 Mon-Khmer sub-group 9 Khmou 10 Phai 11 Xing Moul 12 Phong 13 Thaen 14 Oedou 15 Bit 16 Lamet 17 Samtao 18 Katang 19 Makong 20 Tri 21 Yrou 22 Tariang 23 Ta Oy 24 Yaeh 25 Brao 26 Katou 27 Halak 28 Oy 29 Kriang 30 Cheng 31 Sedang 32 Suay 33 Nya Heun 34 Lavi 35 Pacoh 36 Khmer 37 Toum 38 Ngouan 39 Moy 40 Kri Total Tibeto-Burman sub-group 41 Ahka 42 Singsily 43 Lahou 44 Sila 45 Hanyi 46 Lolo 47 Ho Total Hmong-Yao sub-group 48 Hmong 49 LewmienYao Total Other / o answer 50 Other 51 No answer 306,875 10,843 4,354 13,171 248 329 1,014 9,460 1,761 58,366 57,823 13,130 23,009 14,356 16,156 5,274 11,134 11,179 10,449 11,083 6,375 3,699 467 20,792 3,430 608 8,242 2,882 2,252 339 277 249 629,626 45,563 18,554 7,619 1,517 427 836 5,317 79,833 227,689 13,875 241,564 6,418 27,075 Total population Female Total 1,538,736 106,997 95,757 61,954 14,949 3,059 1,934 7,417 1,830,803 307,018 11,079 4,211 13,143 266 320 950 10,367 1,772 59,910 60,019 13,550 24,166 14,778 16,021 5,296 11,638 11,580 10,831 11,375 6,504 3,860 471 22,042 3,355 585 8,508 2,943 2,206 383 257 246 639,650 45,135 18,893 7,619 1,422 421 855 5,120 79,465 224,257 13,574 237,831 6,114 27,568 3,067,005 215,254 187,391 123,054 29,442 6,160 3,733 14,799 3,646,838 613,893 21,922 8,565 26,314 514 649 1,964 19,827 3,533 118,276 117,842 26,680 47,175 29,134 32,177 10,570 22,772 22,759 21,280 22,458 12,879 7,559 938 42,834 6,785 1,193 16,750 5,825 4,458 722 534 495 1,269,276 90,698 37,447 15,238 2,939 848 1,691 10,437 159,298 451,946 27,449 479,395 12,532 54,643 % 54.6 3.8 3.3 2.2 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.3 64.9 10.9 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.1 2.1 2.1 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.6 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.8 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 22.6 1.6 0.7 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 2.8 8.0 0.5 8.5 0.2 1.0 Male 630,411 49,957 42,502 23,096 5,487 1,308 857 3,078 756,696 150,813 5,537 2,245 6,465 131 180 492 4,644 838 30,674 29,697 6,344 11,904 7,250 8,132 2,607 5,413 5,720 5,439 5,757 3,198 1,872 213 10,553 1,846 300 4,218 1,485 1,158 160 110 136 315,531 22,650 7,973 3,674 789 204 416 2,466 38,172 128,449 6,839 135,288 2,843 16,350 Population aged 0-16 Female Total 612,395 47,958 41,994 22,609 5,437 1,308 900 2,972 735,573 147,779 5,422 2,023 6,490 115 151 427 4,815 806 30,200 29,655 6,282 12,067 7,071 7,836 2,571 5,400 5,830 5,222 5,472 3,174 1,771 212 10,563 1,707 264 4,263 1,454 1,055 165 115 105 310,482 21,557 7,872 3,489 688 203 436 2,371 36,616 124,166 6,538 130,704 2,798 15,705 1,242,806 97,915 84,496 45,705 10,924 2,616 1,757 6,050 1,492,269 298,592 10,959 4,268 12,955 246 331 919 9,459 1,644 60,874 59,352 12,626 23,971 14,321 15,968 5,178 10,813 11,550 10,661 11,229 6,372 3,643 425 21,116 3,553 564 8,481 2,939 2,213 325 225 241 626,013 44,207 15,845 7,163 1,477 407 852 4,837 74,788 252,615 13,377 265,992 5,641 32,055 % 49.8 3.9 3.4 1.8 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.2 59.8 12.0 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.1 2.4 2.4 0.5 1.0 0.6 0.6 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.8 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 25.1 1.8 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 3.0 10.1 0.5 10.7 0.2 1.3

2,821,431 5,621,982 100.0 1,264,880 1,231,878 2,496,758 100.0 2,800,551 ational total Source: The total population figures are taken from 2005 National Census, main report, Table 2.6, page 15. Figures for age cohort 0-16 are author tabulations based on the 2005 census data.

By comparing the percent distribution of the various ethnic groups in the total population and the population aged 0-16, it can be seen that Table 2 verifies the link between ethnicity and the fertility rates shown in Table 1.

The major part of the road network is located in urban areas and passes through the lowlands, where the Lao Loum tend to live. The Lao Theung tend to live in small towns and rural areas that can be described as onroad. The Lao Soung tend to live in upland and more remote areas likely to be categorised as off-road. What can be seen in Table 2 is that Lao Loum (Lao-Tai sub-group) constitute nearly 65% of the total population, but also less than 60% of the population aged 0-16. By contrast, the Lao Theung make up less than 23% of the total population but more than 25% of 0-16 year olds. The Lao Soung constitute just over 11% of the total population but nearly 14% of the 0-16 population. The fertility rates given above make it quite clear that these demographic trends will continue at least some decades into the future. Ironically, these trends will continue until education levels (and general social and economic levels) in rural and remote areas rise. Human resource development (mainly through health, education, and training) will be essential engines of development in rural and remote areas of Laos.

Educational Consequences
Changing Composition of the Classrooms Some of the educational consequences are suggested in Table 3. Over the period 1999/2000 to 2005/06, even in the face of rising net enrolment rates, the number of Lao Loum children enrolled in primary schools decreased by nearly 50,000 (8%) due to falling fertility rates. During the same period, as a consequence of rising enrolment rates combined with population growth, the number of Lao Theung primary school students increased by nearly 70,000 (an increase of 47%), and the number of Lao Soung primary pupils rose by over 40,000 (an increase of 60%). The trend for primary school teachers was similar, if less clear and dramatic. The number of Lao Loum primary school teachers declined by over 360, while the number of Lao Theung and the Lao Soung teachers rose by nearly 640. These two trends are illustrated in Figure 1, which superimposes a graph of the index of the trends on the graph of the basic trends themselves. That is, the background graphs show the actual numbers of children enrolled and teachers employed, by the traditional three ethnic categories previously used by the MOE. The foreground graphs show the index of the trend, where the value for 1999/2000 is set at 1.0, and the points on the graph represent the ratio value for the given year divided by the value for 1999/2000. Thus by 2005/06, Lao Soung enrolments had increased by a factor of approximately 1.6 (increased by 60%), while Lao Loum enrolments had changed by a factor of 0.98 (decreased by 2%).

Table 3: Ethnic distribution of primary students by the three traditional categories umber Lao Loum Lao Theung Lao Soung Total Percent Lao Loum Lao Theung Lao Soung 99/00 607,976 148,481 72,239 828,696 99/00 73.4 17.9 8.7 00/01 594,927 154,076 76,824 825,827 00/01 72.0 18.7 9.3 01/02 597,184 168,124 84,947 850,255 01/02 70.2 19.8 10.0 02/03 594,566 184,844 93,562 872,972 02/03 68.1 21.2 10.7 100.0 03/04 582,146 196,141 102,637 880,924 03/04 66.1 22.3 11.7 100.0 04/05 571,030 207,117 109,980 888,127 04/05 64.3 23.3 12.4 100.0 05/06 558,010 218,164 115,618 891,792 05/06 62.6 24.5 13.0 100.0

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source: MOE, Annual Bulletins, 1999/20002005/06 Note: Summation not equal to 100% due to rounding off error.

Table 4: Ethnic distribution of primary teachers by the three traditional categories umber Lao Loum Lao Theung Lao Soung Total Percent Lao Loum Lao Theung Lao Soung 99/00 22,810 3,459 1,250 27,519 99/00 82.9 12.6 4.5 00/01 22,479 3,587 1,319 27,385 00/01 82.1 13.1 4.8 01/02 23,016 3,893 1,409 28,318 01/02 81.3 13.7 5.0 02/03 22,980 4,002 1,518 28,500 02/03 80.6 14.0 5.3 100.0 03/04 22,189 3,970 1,422 27,581 03/04 80.5 14.4 5.2 100.0 04/05 22,342 3,736 1,439 27,517 04/05 81.2 13.6 5.2 100.0 05/06 22,447 3,888 1,457 27,792 05/06 80.8 14.0 5.2 100.0

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source: MOE, Annual Bulletins, 1999/2000-2005/06. Note: Summation not equal to 100% due to rounding off error.

Figure 1: Growth trends in numbers of students and teachers, by ethnicity

Table 5: Ethnic distribution of population, students, and teachers (percent), 2005/06 Population Total Age 0-16 Teachers Students 65 60 81 63 23 25 14 24 11 14 5 13

Lao Loum Lao Theung Lao Soung

Total 100 100 100 100 Source: Tables 2, 3 and 4 above. Note: Summation not equal to 100% due to rounding off The remarkable progress made in the ethnic error distribution of primary school enrolment, however, has not been matched by progress in the ethnic distribution of primary school teachers. This can also be seen in Table 5. Although the proportion of non-Lao ethnic group teachers (Lao Loum) has increased, the increase has not kept pace with the burgeoning enrolment of non-Lao ethnic group students. In some ways, the

Equity Considerations Table 3 shows a remarkable increase in equity in terms of the ethnic distribution of primary school enrolment. The ethnic distribution of students in primary school is close to the ethnic distribution in the population aged 0-16, as shown in Table 5 below. By 2005/06, Lao Theung and Lao Soung students had become under-represented by only one percentage point when compared with their distributions in the age 0-16 population.

situation has become worse: the likelihood of a Lao Theung or Lao Soung student being taught by Lao Theung or Lao Soung instructor has fallen, as shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Teachers per 1,000 students among the three traditional categories Lao Loum Lao Theung Lao Soung Total 99/00 38 23 17 33 00/01 38 23 17 33 01/02 39 23 17 33 30 02/03 39 22 16 33 31 03/04 38 20 14 31 32 04/05 39 18 13 31 32 05/06 40 18 13 31 32

Student/Teacher Ratio 30 30 Source: MOE, Annual Bulletins, 1999/2000-2005/06.

Pedagogical Considerations Table 5 shows the ratio of teachers per 1,000 students, by ethnic category. The overall student/teacher ratio has increased slightly, in line with the MOE policy of enabling expansion of other sub-sectors. However, for every 1,000 Lao Loum students, there are 40 Lao Loum teachers today, compared with 38 in 1999/2000. By contrast, for every 1,000 Lao Theung students there are now 18 Lao Theung teachers, compared with 23 in 1999/2000. For every 1,000 Lao Soung students there are currently 13 Lao Soung teachers, as against 17 in 1999/2000. Although the substantially improved enrolment rates have obvious pedagogical benefits (more children attending school; more school learning), the worsening access of ethnic group children to teachers who understand their language and culture hinders efficient and effective learning. It also makes it difficult for the educational authorities, curriculum developers, and textbook writers to understand the learning problems faced by non-Lao speaking children. There is no data set which allows for the estimation of dropout and repetition rates by ethnicity, but the 2005 census makes it possible to relate non-participation in schooling to ethnicity, as shown in Table 7. In total, over 100,000 children aged 11-16 (more than 11%) had never attended school. Most children who have not attended school by that age never will attend, at least not as children. As shown by the Gender Parity Index (GPI = %females / %males), girls are nearly twice as likely as boys to never attend (15.7% compared to 7.7%). There are very substantial differences in non-participation rates among the ethno-linguistic groups. For the MonKhmer category, over 20% of children aged 11-16 have never attended school; for the Tibeto-Burman, over 40%; and for the Hmong Yao, 20%. For all four major ethno-linguistic categories in Table 7, on average nonparticipation is much higher for girls than for boys. There is considerable variation in participation rates within these ethno-linguistic categories, as shown by some examples in Table 8. For the Tri and Pacoh groups in the Mon-Khmer category, and the Ahka group in the Tibeto-Burman category, more than half of children in the age range 11-16 had never attended school. Meanwhile only 12% of the Kmhmou (Mon-Khmer) and 8% of the Singsily or Phounoi (Tibeto-Burman) never attend school. In all of these examples, the total number of children in the base population (total number of children aged 11-16) was over 2,000. For some other ethnic groups in which the base population was smaller, the variation between groups was even greater.

Table 7: Children aged 11-16 who have never attended school, by gender and ethnicity Ethnicity Lao-Tai Mon-Khmer Tibeto-Burman Hmong Yao ever attended Male Fem. Total 10,953 22,839 33,792 15,043 25,875 40,918 3,964 6,099 10,063 4,387 11,047 15,434 Total Male Fem. 299,295 278,614 94,983 92,098 12,622 11,752 39,848 37,140 446,748 419,604 Total 577,909 187,081 24,374 76,988 866,352 % %M 3.7 15.8 31.4 11.0 ever attended % F %T GPR 8.2 5.8 2.2 28.1 21.9 1.8 51.9 41.3 1.7 29.7 20.0 2.7 2.0

Total 34,347 65,860 100,207 Source: 2005 National Census, author tabulation

7.7 15.7 11.6

Based on the evidence of the third Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey (LECS 3), King and van de Valle (2005) found that language itself is not generally given by parents as a reason for their children never attending school. More frequently given reasons were distance to school (lack of access) and lack of interest (low perceived utility of schooling). Both of these factors, however, can be influenced by the ethno-linguistic context. For example, antagonism between ethnic groups can sometimes make it impossible for children from one community to attend a school nearby (If they are attending that school, then we are not!). Low perceived utility can be in part a result of lower performance levels by non-Lao speaking children. This is suggested by Table 9.

Table 8: Age 11-16, ever attended school, by ethnicity some examples of inter-group variation Ethnicity Lao-Tai Lao Tai Xaek Mon-Khmer Kmhmou Tri Pacoh Tibeto-Burman Ahka Singsily ever attended Male Female Total 8,326 18,589 494 967 404 815 3,697 991 407 2,936 189 7,712 1,216 657 4,698 305 26,915 1,461 1,219 11,409 2,207 1,064 7,634 494 Total Age 11-16 Male Fem. Total 247,608 229,375 19,194 18,091 2,126 2,140 47,196 1,625 1,003 7,306 3,049 37,723 2,125 45,546 1,565 1,066 6,643 3,103 35,130 2,010 476,983 37,285 4,266 92,742 3,190 2,069 13,949 6,152 72,853 4,135 % ever attended %M %F %T GPR 3.4 8.1 5.6 2.6 5.3 3.9 19.0 38.1 28.6 7.8 16.9 12.3 61.0 77.7 69.2 40.6 61.6 51.4 40.2 70.7 54.7 6.2 9.8 8.0 10.3 29.8 19.7 23.2 28.6 25.8 2.4 2.1 2.0 2.2 1.3 1.5 1.8 1.6 2.9 1.2

Hmong Yao Hmong 3,894 10,473 14,367 Yao-Mien 493 574 1,067 Source: 2005 National Census, author tabulation

These demographic changes Table 9: umber of children aged 11-16 by literacy and ethnicity represent a challenge for the Boys Girls education authorities. For ot % ot ot % ot example, even among the Lao-Tai Literate Literate Lit. Literate Literate Lit. category (Lao Loum), 16% of 321,623 62,388 16 311,703 59,353 16 boys and girls aged 11-16 cannot Lao-Tai 252,853 144,658 36 220,958 162,965 42 Other read and write Lao, as shown in Source: National Census 2005 author tabulation. Table 9. Among the linguistically quite diverse Other category, which covers the Mon-Khmer and Tibeto-Burman groups (Lao Theung) and the Hmong-Yao groups (Lao Soung), 36% of boys and 42% of girls between 11 and 16 years of age cannot read and write Lao. No evidence is available on ability to read and write languages other than Lao. Of the 780,000 non Lao-Tai children in this age group, 39% (36% of boys and 42% of girls) reportedly cannot read and write Lao. This has not only educational implications but also regional political implications: in 79 of the 142 districts in Laos, all children aged 11-16 belong to non-Lao Tai ethnic minority categories (non Lao-Tai), according to the 2005 census.

Conclusion: Reaching the Unreached

Although the above findings indicate something of the scale of the problem, they cannot be used to suggest specific solutions for particular remote schools, communities, districts, or provinces. There are four essential points to consider: Point 1: Point 2: Point 3: Different communities have different developmental needs based on the real conditions in the community, including the level of development and economic integration with the larger economy; School childrens learning needs are different in different communities; Learning needs of the community change over time, as the real conditions of the community change;

Point 4:

Schools help to change the real conditions of the community if, and only if, they are sufficiently effective that children do not drop out of school, for example because they are not learning or because they do not see the utility.

If different communities have different needs, then it would be a serious error to attempt to impose standardised solutions. Because of the complexity of the demographic and linguistic context, solutions can only emerge from local communities in cooperation with the local and district education authorities, based on an understanding of the concrete situation in each community. This understanding must include comprehension of the informed aims and objectives of the community, and of the alternatives available. Provision of Qualified Teachers The most difficult problem for the education authorities to solve has been the provision of qualified teachers to remote schools. For many ethnic group communities, the ideal solution would be to have qualified teachers from their own community, or a neighbouring community, or at least teachers who know the language and culture of the local children. This would be completely consistent with overall education policy, but in practice a chain of policies and practices related to selection and financing of teacher training candidates, to employment, and to deployment of trained teachers hinders this approach (Noonan and Xaiyasensouk, 2007). Policy development and institutional development related to teacher education and training is needed to support the penetration of primary education into all communities across the Lao PDR. Of course, it should not be assumed that all non-Lao speaking communities would prefer to have primary school teachers from their own ethnic group. Some do and some do not, depending on the particular situation in the community. Factors affecting this include the degree of linguistic homogeneity of the community, the use of a local lingua franca other than Lao, and other variables which can influence school participation and learning outcomes. Community preferences and the learning needs of the children in a community cannot be determined from outside that community. The informed views of the people involved need to be consulted. Ethnic Group Boarding Schools Across the country there are fifteen provincial and three central ethnic group boarding schools. Each province is are served by either its own boarding school or by one school in a neighbouring province. Recruits to these ethnic boarding schools are primary school and lower secondary school graduates from poor and remote communities. For general reference, because the data is not widely published, enrolment figures for primary ethnic boarding schools are shown in Table 10, and figures for secondary ethnic boarding schools are given in Table 11.

Table 10: Primary ethnic minority boarding schools enrolment, 2005-06 Grade 1 Tot Fem 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Grade 2 Tot Fem 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 11 3 0 0 62 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 Students by grade Grade 3 Grade 4 Tot Fem Tot Fem 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 9 0 33 7 46 11 33 2 33 6 58 4 60 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Grade 5 Tot Fem 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 7 0 0 40 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 59 18 33 9 98 22 0 0 0 0 27 8 287 76 Total Tot Fem 0 0 0 0 0 0 64 15 0 0 40 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 2 184 48 99 17 278 55 0 0 0 0 27 8 711 156

Province Phongsaly Luang Namtha Oudomxay Bokeo Luang Prabang Houaphan Xayaboury Xieng Khouang Vientiane Bolikhamxay Khammouane Savannakhet Saravane Sekong Champassak Attapeu

Total 35 9 74 19 127 13 188 39 Source: MOE, Department of General Education, Division of Ethnic Minorities

Quality primary education should be delivered in the community. As a general solution, a boarding school approach would not be feasible or sustainable, although it could be a solution in some limited circumstances. For example, secondary ethnic group boarding schools could serve as a recruitment base for teacher training. Many of the students in ethnic group boarding schools want to become teachers and to return to their communities to teach. In 2000, a pilot teacher training programme was introduced to the ethnic group boarding school in Luang Prabang, but the programme was not continued after the pilot. A study should be conducted of the feasibility of employing ethnic group boarding schools for recruiting and possibly training teachers.

Language of Instruction In light of the present and emergent ethno-linguistic composition of the school-age population and the strong commitment of GOL to the EFA goal 2 and MDG 2, it would be prudent to carefully consider the most effective ways of meeting the learning needs of children from non-Lao speaking home backgrounds, including the need for learning to speak, read, and write Lao and understand spoken Lao. UNESCO supports mother tongue instruction as a means of improving educational quality by building upon the knowledge and experience of the learners and teachers (UNESCO, 2003). With such an approach, children initially learn to read and write in the language they know best, and then use their literacy skills as a tool for learning the national language. Literacy in any language, of course, can only be maintained if there is an adequate supply of reading material, not only for school children but also for adolescents and adults, and for entertainment as well as for study. As a matter of economic reality, it is not possible with conventional methods to produce instructional materials in all fifty or more languages spoken in Laos. More cost-effective methods should be considered. Nor is it possible to provide qualified teachers in all the local languages spread throughout the country. Neither is it necessary, however: it is possible to meet the language learning needs of the large majority of non-Lao speaking children with much more modest aims and judicious allocation of resources (Noonan, 2005).

Table 11: Secondary ethnic minority boarding schools enrolments, 2005-06 Grade 6 Tot Fem 30 14 43 13 70 25 21 4 107 20 52 22 101 31 40 16 127 56 20 2 29 10 63 7 104 25 30 8 68 35 98 33 Grade 7 Tot Fem 30 12 57 19 97 37 22 7 124 40 65 20 115 25 90 25 112 41 5 2 28 3 63 10 79 17 24 7 69 28 84 21 Students by grade Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Tot Fem Tot Fem Tot Fem Tot Fem 30 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 20 43 12 43 7 0 0 92 24 34 7 32 14 33 5 37 10 42 11 0 0 0 0 151 50 167 44 165 35 121 33 53 18 102 41 80 20 45 15 89 38 147 50 184 74 114 47 75 13 90 28 34 11 29 13 87 29 72 20 90 32 98 25 8 2 12 2 2 0 4 2 35 6 43 7 26 6 20 3 86 15 161 64 133 59 136 50 65 11 43 11 90 18 76 12 23 10 44 13 28 12 24 9 41 15 42 16 67 30 67 26 84 28 61 25 63 23 53 12 Total Tot Fem 90 31 238 71 358 112 122 32 835 222 397 136 750 265 358 106 586 203 51 10 181 35 642 205 457 94 173 59 354 150 443 142

Province Phongsaly Luang Namtha Oudomxay Bokeo Luang Prabang Houaphan Xayaboury Xieng Khouang Vientiane Bolikhamxay Khammouane Savannakhet Saravane Sekong Champassak Attapeu

Total 1,003 321 1,064 314 1,008 294 1,103 351 1,037 341 Source: MOE, Department of General Education, Division of Ethnic Minorities Note: Includes both quota and non-quota students.

820 252 6,035 1,873

It may be time for a more progressive approach to the complex issues concerning language of instruction. Before making any policy change in this area, however, it would be important to open the issues for informed discussions supported by ethnographic, linguistic, and pedagogical research in the Lao context, plus international research. Development cooperation agencies should also be involved in the discussion as a source of both experience and financial support for research, study tours, seminars, workshops, and other related activities. 9

About the Author

Richard Noonan (richard.noonan@yahoo.com) is an education economist who began working in Laos on short-term missions in 1995, and served as Senior Advisor for Sector Investment at the MOE from 2002-2005. He has lived in Vientiane since 2002. The author is indebted to many colleagues in the Ministry for generously sharing their information, understanding and ideas over the years, to the National Statistical Centre for providing the voluminous census data subset, and to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) for financing the data set and the analysis in connection with a study of alternative models for teacher training for remote areas. Complete breakdowns by district for Tables 2 and 7 are available from the author on request.

References GOL. 2006. Results from the Population and Housing Census 2005. Vientiane: Steering Committee for Census of Population and Housing. Vientiane. King, Elizabeth & van de Valle, Dominique. 2005. Schooling and Poverty in Lao PDR. Washington, DC: World Bank, Development Research Group. MOE. 2000-2006. Annual Bulletins, 1999/20002005/06. Vientiane. MOE, Unicef & Unesco. 2002. Lao National Literacy Survey, 2000. Vientiane: MOE. MOE. 2007. Education for All Mid-Decade Assessment and Fast Track Initiative. Vientiane: MOE. MOIC (no date). Ethnographic Data Bank of Laos. Retrieved October 29, 2007 from <http://www.laosethnicculture.org/english/resources.html> Noonan, R. 2005. Language of Instruction: Economic Analysis of the Use of Minority Languages for Early Education. Juth Pakai: Perspectives on Lao Development. 1:3.. Noonan, R. and V. Xaiyasensouk. 2007. Alternative Models of Teacher Training for Remote Areas. Final Report. Vientiane: Sida. UNESCO. 2003. Education in a Multilingual World. Education Position Paper. Paris: UNESCO.

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